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Failed discharges from the psychogeriatric ward

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Judy Too ,
Justin Gardner  and
Navin Savla
Navin Savla
Affiliation:
Claybury Hospital, Woodford Bridge, Woodford Green, Essex IG8 8BY
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Abstract

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‘Failed discharge’ was used as a measure of service efficacy on a psychogeriatric unit. Thirty-eight failed discharges from hospital were compared with 38 controls. Failed discharge was associated with a diagnosis of depression and a greater number of previous admissions. Possible underlying causes are discussed.

In the current NHS climate, it is increasingly important to measure the outcome of medical care. In psychiatry, the most appropriate methodology is not clear-cut (Garden & Oyebode, 1989). Tailed discharge’, or readmission to hospital within a short period of discharge, has been advocated as a possible outcome measure (Jones, 1991). This point prevalence study, of patients under 65 years, yielded a ‘failed discharge’ rate of 27%. Recurrence of original symptoms, poor treatment compliance and failure of follow-up arrangements emerged as important factors.

Type
Original Papers
Information
Psychiatric Bulletin , Volume 19 , Issue 8 , August 1995 , pp. 478 - 479
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1995

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